2015 Peach Bowl, Florida State vs. Houston: Date, time, location and more

Next year, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be one of two semifinal games in the College Football Playoff, but this year it will serve as the New Year’s Eve appetizer to the two semifinals and feature a matchup of non-Playoff teams selected by the committee.

Founded in 1968, the Peach Bowl spent nearly 40 years with that name before it became the Chick-fil-A Bowl in 2006. When it was added as one of the New Year’s Six bowls, it reverted to its original name, although Chick-fil-A still retained its role as the primary sponsor.

The game has long featured SEC and ACC tie-ins, but instead had TCU show up in a big way in 2014 with a dominating, 42-3 victory over Ole Miss after missing out on a playoff spot.

Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl:

Date and time: Thursday, Dec. 31, 12 p.m.

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Atlanta, Ga.

Stadium: Georgia Dome, 74,228

Last year’s score: TCU 42, Ole Miss 3

Last year’s attendance: 65,706

Last year’s TV rating: 3.4

Last year’s payout for each school: $3,967,500 (ACC) $2,932,500 (SEC)

Teams with the most all-time appearances: Clemson, 8

Teams with the most all-time wins: LSU, 5

With Jameis Winston leaving for the NFL, Florida State was unable to go undefeated again, but the Seminoles still finished the season with 10 wins, including a 27-2 blowout at Florida to end the year. That’s enough to get FSU to a major bowl, even without reaching the title conference game or winning the ACC.

Early in the year, the Seminoles were plagued on offense with star running back Dalvin Cook hampered by injury. Graduate transfer quarterback Everett Golson never fit in well with the offense, which ended up making a switch to backup Sean Maguire. Under Maguire and a healthy Cook, the offense has improved.

The defense has still been impressive -- even against a powerful Clemson offense -- and it has a ton of talent that has improved throughout the year. There’s a bad blemish against Georgia Tech from earlier in the season, but right now, the Seminoles are playing very well.

Last bowl game: 2014 season’s Rose Bowl (59-20 loss to Oregon)

All-time bowl record: 26-15-2

Head coach’s bowl record: Jimbo Fisher is 4-1 in bowl games

2015 has been a whirlwind season for Houston. They rolled with first-year head coach Tom Herman, formerly Ohio State offensive coordinator, and that move has paid off handsomely. The Cougs rolled to a 12-1 season while winning the AAC and clinching a New Years’ Six bowl berth, leading the program to ante up big time to ensure Herman’s future. It’s a good time to be a Houston fan.

The Houston offense grabs most of the headlines and for good reason. They finished eighth in the nation in scoring offense at 42 points per game and quarterback Greg Ward Jr. blossomed into a star. Ward recorded 35 total touchdowns and completed over 68 percent of his passes. Wide receiver Demarcus Ayers also developed into a big time player and led the team by a wide margin with 1,140 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions.

The Cougs were middle of the pack in terms of defense, which is certainly not what you aim for as a team but it’s more than enough when the offense can score like theirs can. While they did surrender a fair amount of yards, they only allowed a hair over 21 points per game, which tied them for 22nd in the nation. Whoever lines up against Houston in its bowl game is going to have a difficult task in front of them.

Last bowl game: 2014 season’s Armed Forces Bowl (35-34 win over Pittsburgh)

All-time bowl record: 10-12-1

Head coach’s bowl record: This is Tom Herman’s first bowl appearance as a head coach